¡Feliz cumpleaños Señorita Turken!

Hee, hee. 🙂 Why not start this week’s post off with a laugh? It is my birthday today, so I thought it was a catchy way to title the post to get your attention. I hope it made you smile! We have had another eventful week in fifth grade. Below are the topics in this blog post. Enjoy!

Conversation Starters

Learning Buddies

Chapter Book: Wonder

Math Groups and Basic Facts

Writing Using a Mentor Author & Writing Celebration

Nonfiction Reading

Halloween Party Information

Common Core Connection

Gratitude

Conversation Starters:

Tell me about the nonfiction text you read this week in your reading group.

What is your personal narrative about? Why did you choose this event in your life?

Tell me how you have made sure you created a story arc in your personal narrative.

Tell me how to find the volume of a box.

What was it like meeting with your Learning Buddies last Friday?

What are some of the things your buddy likes and dislikes?

Tell me some of the ways that you will model the Robinson Road Rules for your buddy.

While you are reading the book Wonder during your chapter book time, what are you learning about relationships and how to treat others? How do you think Auggie is feeling right now based on what is happening at his school, Beecher Prep?

Learning Buddies: Last Friday, we met with our second grade Learning Buddies. Learning Buddies are an opportunity for upper and lower grade students to connect and support one another throughout the year. Learning Buddies take time to learn together, as well as do creative projects together as well. Here are some photos of us with our second grade Learning Buddies!

Chapter Book: Wonder: This book continues to be extremely powerful as our class chapter book. Click here for a link to some questions that were asked during an interview with the author, R.J. Palacio. You might want to read this interview with your fifth grader because her responses are pretty interesting and will give your child a more thorough understanding of the book.

Math Groups and Basic Fact Work: During our math groups this week, we worked on the ways to find the volume of rectangular prisms. You can click here to see a video about strategies to calculate the volume for a rectangular prism. Check it out because it’s pretty helpful when you want to support your fifth grader. Also, last week, the fifth grade team sent home a letter about the importance of basic fact work. We need for your child to become fluent with his/her basic facts (knowing the answer in 3 seconds or less) in order to continue to succeed in fifth grade math. If you don’t have these facts or would like another copy, click on the following link to get them: BASIC.FACTS. Thanks for supporting your fifth grade mathematician!

Writing Using a Mentor Author: This week, we wrote using a mentor author with the purpose of wanting to try new things in our writing. After spending a couple of days trying new strategies, each child picked a seed to develop into a story. We are working hard on these stories to make sure they include a powerful story arc and that the tension is stretched out so the reader never forgets the story. If you are interested in hearing some of the incredible personal narratives in our classroom, please come to our Writing Celebration. Below is the invitation that went home this past Tuesday to invite you to our celebration next week. The celebration should last about 45 minutes. Feel free to stop by for part or all of our celebration, if you are available.

Halloween Party Information: Believe it or not . . . it’s time to start thinking about Halloween. Below is information from the families that are helping to coordinate a party for all three fifth grade classes. If you click on the orange information box below, it becomes larger and MUCH easier to read. Please contact them if you have any questions.

Nonfiction Reading: You will continue to see many nonfiction texts in your child’s backpack this year. As you read about the Common Core Connection (the section in this post that is below), you will become more aware of the importance of nonfiction texts for your child. In the meantime, here is a graphic that represents important nonfiction features that support your child’s comprehension.

Common Core Connection: I found another great source of information for families regarding the Common Core shifts. Oddly enough, this link is from New York again. I guess they have some good literature out there for families! Either way, please click here to find out what shifts are taking place and how to continue supporting your fifth grader.

Gratitude: I hate to sound redundant from previous posts, but I feel the need (again) to thank you for trusting me to guide your fifth grader’s learning on a daily basis. We have rather productive – and exhausting – days and I enjoy spending my time with each child in our class. Have a wonderful weekend.